GLAAD kicked off Latine Heritage Month with a night of comedy featuring Danielle Perez, Gabe González, Lorena Russ and Roz Hernandez (and hosted by Creative Artists Agency) in Los Angeles, per a press release. Fellow creatives and industry professionals in attendance included Damian Terriquez, Danielle Perez, Mimi Davila, Salina EsTitties and Tony Rodriguez. The event also featured an exclusive first look at the new season of Dímelo, a digital original series from GLAAD and LatiNation. GLAAD research shows that Latine representation in TV and film is on the decline. More specifically, GLAAD’s latest Where We Are on TV report found the drop in LGBTQ Latine characters on television this year “worrisome.”
British actor Charlie Hunnam—who starred in the original UK version of Queer As Folk—will star as U.S. serial killer, murderer and body snatcher Ed Gein in the third season of Ryan Murphy’s Monster series, according to Instinct Magazine. (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story recently debuted on Netflix.) Hunnam was also just cast in the series adaptation of the graphic novel Criminal, in which he will be starring as ‘Leo’ a “brilliant master thief who sees all the angles, and specializes in plans with no guns and no violence.”
And speaking of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Erik has slammed the Netflix version, Variety noted. In an online statement posted via his wife Tammi Menendez’s X account, Erik—who was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder along with brother Lyle for killing their parents—said the drama series presented “ruinous character portrayals” of both of them. “It is with a heavy heart that I say I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent,” Erik stated. Among other things, Erik called out the series for reviving “dishonest” narratives about their lives, accusing the production of misrepresenting of male trauma and sexual abuse.
And Murphy responded to Erik’s criticism of Monsters, according to Deadline. “I think that’s interesting because I know he hasn’t watched the show. So I find that curious,” Murphy told E! News in a red-carpet interview for his series Grotesquerie. “I hope he does watch it. I think if he did watch it he would be incredibly proud of Cooper Koch, who plays him. … “We know two people were brutally shot. Our view and what we wanted to do was present you all the facts and have you do two things: make up your own mind about who’s innocent, who’s guilty, and who’s the monster, and also have a conversation about something that’s never talked about in our culture, which is male sexual abuse, which we do responsibly.”
Also, openly gay actor Cooper Koch, who played Erik Menendez in Monsters, visited Erik—with Kim Kardashian—after the convicted killer blasted the series, Just Jared noted, citing TMZ. The pair visited Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego on Sept. 21. The stars met with a group of around 40 inmates to talk about prison reform—and Erik and Lyle were reportedly both there. Joining them at the prison were Kim‘s mom, Kris Jenner, and sister Khloe Kardashian, along with film producer Scott Budnick, who is the founder of The Anti-Recidivism Coalition.
Although California Gov. Gavin Newsom previously signed two AI bills giving performers greater protections, Jane Fonda, Shonda Rhimes, Jessica Chastain, John Cho, Hannah Einbinder, Sophia Bush, Janelle Monae, Mahershala Ali, Jessica Alba and Pedro Pascal are among 125 industry professionals to sign Artists 4 Safe AI’s open letter urging him to pass openly gay state Sen. Scott Wiener’s SB 1047, according to Deadline. SB 1047 would require AI developers in the state to implement security precautions before training their models. However, the bill has drawn opposition from major companies like OpenAI as well as from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The 2024 iteration of I Put a Spell On You: ALiiVE at Webster Hall will take place at the NYC venue on Oct. 21, per Playbill. The annual Halloween concert full of Broadway favorites will benefit the Ali Forney Center and its work to end homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth. Among the individuals slated to perform are Jay Armstrong Johnson (who will again portray Winifred Sanderson), nonbinary Tony winner J. Harrison Ghee, Robyn Hurder (Moulin Rouge!), Stephen Brower (Lempicka), Yeman Brown (Queen of Versailles), Max Clayton (Music Man), Heath Saunders (Company) and Emma Sofia, among others.
After two years away, the Tony Awards will return to New York’s Radio City Music Hall for the 2025 ceremony set for Sunday, June 8, per Deadline. The 78th Annual Tony Awards will air live to both coasts from the iconic midtown venue on CBS, streaming on Paramount+. In 2023, the Tonys were presented at the then-newly renovated United Palace in Upper Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood; last year, the awards ceremony was closer to the Broadway district with a move to the renovated David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts—which only has 2,500 seats (compared to Radio City’s 6,000).
Eduardo Xol, a TV designer on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, has died at age 58, per The Hollywood Reporter. He died at the Desert Regional Medical Center after sustaining injuries during an apparent stabbing on Sept. 10 in Palm Springs, California. According to the Desert Sun newspaper, Palm Springs police charged Richard Joseph Gonzales, 34, with attempted murder after he reported the stabbing. Among other things, Xol supported GLAAD and shot public service announcements as a part of the “Be an Ally & a Friend” public education campaign.
Alethea Crimmins—the globally acclaimed “positivity queen”—has released the new single “Shine,” according to a press release. According to Crimmins, “‘Shine’ is a vibrant anthem of self-confidence, pride, and unapologetic self-expression. This infectious dance track empowers listeners to break free from the chains of self-doubt, loneliness, and fear of failure, urging them to embrace and celebrate every facet of who they are.” Windy City Times recently interviewed Crimmins, talking about everything from queerness to adversity.
Out Bridgerton and Fellow Travelers star Jonathan Bailey won an award after raising thousands of pounds for an LGBTQ+ youth charity, per PinkNews. Bailey raised £33,452 ($44,500) for Just Like Us after running the Hackney half marathon in May. The actor became a patron of the charity in 2023 and accepted the celebrity fundraiser of the year award at the 2024 GoCardless JustGiving Awards, hosted by TV’s Rylan Clark, on Sept. 18. “It’s amazing to be able to highlight brilliant causes, especially for the LGBT+ community. I am very honored,” Bailey said after receiving the award. “This is the stuff that means the most.”
Lesbian film producer Christine Vachon spoke publicly about what she described as the “tragedy” behind Todd Haynes’ now-shelved gay romance flick starring Joaquin Phoenix while at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Deadline reported. Vachon denied that there was a complex backstory behind the production being halted, stating, “Pretty much what happened is what’s out there for you to read. I don’t know any more than that. I would gossip if I had anything to gossip about.” As has been widely reported, Phoenix is said to have left the set of Haynes’ movie weeks before it was set to begin production in Guadalajara, Mexico; local crew members are due money.
Queer singer Chappell Roan took to social media to further clarify her thoughts on endorsements for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, and actually voting, Deadline noted. In the four-minute video, she stated, in part, “Endorsing and voting are completely different. I don’t agree with a lot of what is going on with, like, policies. Like, obviously, fuck the policies on the right, but also fuck some of the policies on the left. That’s why I can’t endorse. .. So, yeah, I’m voting for fucking Kamala, but I’m not settling for what has been offered, because that’s questionable.”
Los Angeles band The Scarlet Opera released a cover of the 1987 Belinda Carlisle classic “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” out via Republic Records, per a press release. “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” initially was a live favorite in The Scarlet Opera’s set; Carlisle heard of their rendition and lent her stamp of approval. Last year, the band released the single “That Kind Of Woman” and debut Comedy EP, which features tracks like “The Place To Be,” “Big City Thing,” “Alive” and “Riot.”
A buddy comedy starring queer actress Keke Palmer and singer SZA will debut next year, Variety noted. The TriStar Pictures movie—produced by Issa Rae‘s Hoorae, written by Syreeta Singleton and directed by Lawrence Lamont—will be released in theaters on Jan. 24, 2025. The title for the R-rated comedy and other plot details are still being kept under wraps, but the supporting cast includes Lil Rel Howery, Janelle James, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Maude Apatow, Katt Williams, Joshua Neal, Aziza Scott, Patrick Cage and Amin Joseph; last month, Variety exclusively announced the additions of Dewayne Perkins, Joseph, Gabrielle Dennis and Dominque Perry.
On the show In Depth with Graham Bensinger, actor Eric Stonestreet discussed why a Modern Family spinoff centering on Cameron and Mitchell—the couple played by Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson—didn’t pan out, CinemaBlend noted. Stonestreet said, “I don’t think it’s potential anymore. … Well, they had their chance. Chris Lloyd and a couple of the writers wrote a really great script that spun Jesse and I off in our life in Missouri, and they said, ‘No.’ They just said, ‘We don’t want to do it.’ And I think it hurt Jesse [Tyler Ferguson] and [my] feelings. I think it hurt Chris Lloyd’s feelings.” Stonestreet added, “I love my character. I love the show. I love Jesse. We had a great working relationship, we had amazing chemistry. We didn’t know each other, and we built these characters that Steve [Levitan] and Chris wrote, and our writing staff cultivated.”
LGBTQ+ two-time Olympic gold medallist and trailblazing boxer Nicola Adams is slated to make her Hollywood debut in the upcoming action-thriller The Gun on Second Street, per Deadline. The film—which will also feature Poppy Delevingne, Tom Arnold and Rumer Willis—follows two Pittsburgh police partners whose lives are dramatically altered by a tragic incident. Adams—a Brit who retired from boxing in 2019 with an undefeated professional record—has studied at the Identity School of Acting (IDSA) in London, whose alumni include John Boyega, Malachi Kirby and Letitia Wright. In 2022, Adams and model Ella Baig welcomed a baby boy.
NBA icon Dennis Rodman recently talked on the Got Sole podcast about cross-dressing & clubbing with his gay friends in the ’90s, according to Queerty. In part, Rodman said, “A lot of people thought I was gay. ‘Cause I was cross-dressing, women’s clothes… Imagine guys in San Antonio—the Bible-bumping city in the world. I was going to gay clubs, gay pride, doing this and that… I had a lot of my gay friends help me dress after the game. They picked an outfit for me… and they’d just add stuff to it. I did gold, I did glitter, I did everything in the book. It was cool how they dressed. They dressed so gay.”
BLACKSTARKIDS have released their sixth studio album, Saturn Dayz, via Dirty Hit, a press release noted. According to the release, the album “is a shapeshifting, genre-crossing testament to BLACKSTARKIDS’ stratospheric and unrelenting artistry that dreams up a world without rules or limitations where Black children can go to find happiness and defy all stereotypes.” Some of Saturn Dayz’s tracks include “Black Children,” “Love Is a Moshpit,” “UFO,” “Emancipation of Stevie Wonder” and the title song.
Andra Day (recently seen leading the Netflix movie The Deliverance) shared her Amazon Music Live City Sessions concert—available only on Amazon Music, per a press release. Day initially performed this show as part of Amazon Music’s “Forever The Influence” in celebration of Black Music Month. Broadcast from Los Angeles on June 7, her set streamed live on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch and Prime Video. Day sang songs from her latest album, CASSANDRA (cherith)—“Maybe Next Time,” “Probably” and “Chasing”—and closed the show with a rendition of “Draw Me Close/Thy Will Be Done,” originally made famous by gospel singer Marvin Winans.
MRC is tapping Oscar-nominated actress/producer Margot Robbie and BAFTA-nominated actor Jacob Elordi to star in Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Bronte’s classic novel Wuthering Heights, Deadline reported. LuckyChap also will produce Fennell’s upcoming feature film adaptation; this will be the company and Fennell’s third collaboration together, having also produced Saltburn and Promising Young Woman. The original story (published in 1850) follows two families—the Earnshaws and the Lintons—and the turbulent relationship they have with the Earnshaws’ foster son, Heathcliff.
Speaking with The Guardian, superstar singer Janet Jackson speculated about Vice President Kamala Harris’ family background—while seemingly admitting that she did not know what she was talking about, according to Deadline. “Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not Black. That’s what I heard—that she’s Indian,” she told the reporter. When the journalist clarified that she is of both Black and South Asian heritage, Jackson answered, “Her father’s white. That’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days. I was told they discovered her father was white.” Harris’ father, Donald, is a Jamaican American professor of economics at Stanford University; her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a renowned breast cancer researcher and scientist, was from southern India. A subsequent apology initially connected to Jackson was confirmed to not come from her, media outlets noted.
Lady Gaga’s next album, Harlequin, will be a companion to Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie À Deux, which hits theaters Oct. 4 and co-stars Gaga, Deadline noted. The album will arrive Friday, Sept. 27. Gaga had been teasing her next album, LG7, for a while, and she dropped hints about the project along with her press schedule at Venice Film Festival.
And Lady Gaga’s father, NYC restaurateur Joe Germanotta, has endorsed “patriot” Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election, PinkNews noted. Germanotta also thanked Elon Musk, despite the X/Twitter owner being investigated over assassination tweets about Kamala Harris. Gaga is a staunch supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and sang the national anthem at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
Million Dollar Listing New York’s Fredrik Eklund is developing a new show with Evolution Media, the production company behind Vanderpump Rules and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Deadline noted. The series will follow the out Swedish broker’s business, featuring his team of real estate professionals based in Miami. Eklund is the co-founder of Eklund/Gomes, which has secured more than $25 billion in residential transactions and sold more than 125 new developments within the past decade.
Rapper Chingy (known for the song “Right Thurr”) faced backlash for agreeing to perform at a Sept. 29 event for the Log Cabin Republicans, who are LGBTQ+ conservatives, LGBTQ Nation noted. According to TMZ, the event was slated to take place at Kid Rock’s Big Honky Tonk & Steakhouse in Nashville, with musical performances and speeches by Donald Trump Jr. and partner Kimberly Guilfoyle. Others slated to perform included former Pussycat Dolls member Jessica Sutta and songwriter Chris DeStefano. While the rapper has continued to release singles over the past decade, as well as a 2023 EP, Chingy has not released a full studio album since 2010. Talking with TMZ earlier this year, the musician claimed he was “blackballed” and his career derailed after transgender social-media personality Sydney Starr claimed in 2010 that the two had been in a relationship. (According to Complex, Starr claimed in 2012 that she had lied about the relationship.)
Queer NBC News political correspondent Steve Kornacki revealed that his mother, Anne, passed away, Queerty noted. Kornacki, 45, shared a photo of himself as a child with his mom, Anne B. (Ramonas) Kornacki, saying, “I lost her on Friday. I’m so lucky she was able to see so much of my life, even if no amount of time could ever be enough. No offense to anyone out there, but my mom was the best mom.” Steve (Jr.) was listed in the obituary alongside his partner, Brian Duffy.
Singer Usher claimed his X account got hacked after his former mentor, Sean “Diddy” Combs, was arrested and charged with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, per Page Six. Usher claimed the hack after fans noticed that past tweets from his account had mysteriously disappeared. Some other celebrities, like Pink and Megan Fox, were also seemingly hacked on X over the same time period.
Also regarding Combs, Rosie O’Donnell reacted to the disturbing details following his arrest with her own experience at one of his parties, according to Queerty. On TikTok, O’Donnell explained how she used to be neighbors with Combs back when she lived on Miami’s Star Island. Their close proximity led to her getting invited to one of his extravagant New Year’s Eve parties; however, O’Donnell didn’t adhere to the event’s strict dress code—and she said that she and her family were not allowed in the event. But she added, “The next day, he called and he felt so bad that he rented out the Regal Cinema for me and my family to see any movie we want[ed] the entire day in any theater whenever we wanted.” O’Donnell also said she was “in shock” over the arrest.
And in a related matter, Netflix is producing a docuseries from Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson about charges of sex trafficking and racketeering as well as sexual assault and violent abuse allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs, Variety reported. “This is a story with significant human impact. It is a complex narrative spanning decades, not just the headlines or clips seen so far,” Jackson and director Alexandria Stapleton said in an exclusive statement to Variety. “While the allegations are disturbing, we urge all to remember that Sean Combs’ story is not the full story of hip-hop and its culture. We aim to ensure that individual actions do not overshadow the culture’s broader contributions.”
Just two days after her band, Heart, added some shows to a planned 2025 national tour, Ann Wilson announced that she has completed chemo for cancer and will be ready to hit the road next year, Deadline noted. On Instagram, Wilson—who performs with sister Nancy Wilson in the band known for such classics as “Barracuda,” “Crazy on You” and “Alone”—said, “I’m doing absolutely fine now but it’s been, to put it mildly, a lot. Chemo is no joke. It takes a lot out of a person. And then there’s that two weeks of waiting around for test results, a form of mental torture. … Luckily, for me, when the results finally came, they were the good kind!” Heart’s “Royal Flush Tour” is slated to stop in cities such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, Vancouver, Edmonton, Milwaukee and NYC, among others.
Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy and Friends announced a 2025 U.S. tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s iconic 1985 album, Fables of the Reconstruction, per a press release. After the pair’s sold-out run honoring R.E.M.’s famed debut album, Murmur, which saw the four original members of R.E.M. (including out lead singer Michael Stipe) come together for the first time in 17 years at the tour’s Athens stop, the Fables tour will take Shannon & Narducy to nearly three times as many cities across the country, including shows in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia and more, along with two nights in R.E.M.’s hometown of Athens, Georgia. Shannon—an actor/musician known best for his film/series/stage work—and Narducy (who’s worked with Bob Mould Band and Superchunk, among others) have been collaborating for more than a decade, playing entire albums by some of their favorite artists in Chicago clubs.
On Nov. 29, London Records will release the legendary British rock band Echo and the Bunnymen album What Are You Going To Do With Your Life?—25 years after its debut, per a press release. However, the newer album will be released on vinyl for the very first time, both in crystal-clear and limited-edition rust orange vinyl versions. What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? is the eighth studio album by the Liverpool post-punk band and the follow-up to their 1997 comeback album Evergreen, which saw original Bunnymen members Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant and Les Pattison reunite in the studio for the first time in almost a decade.
The Motion Picture Academy rejected a plea from producers Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and fellow makers of Kiss the Future to reconsider its decision ruling the documentary ineligible for Oscar consideration, Deadline noted. The award-winning film—about the 1990s siege of Sarajevo and how the city’s residents took inspiration from U2’s music amid a campaign of extermination—played in more than 130 AMC cinemas in the United States. However, the Academy judged the film screened two times a day in a qualifying market, and not the prescribed three times that Oscar rules require.
Max cancelled Pretty Little Liars after two seasons, TheWrap noted. After premiering as PLL: Original Sin in July 2022, the series was rebranded as PLL: Summer School for this past May’s second season. The now-axed series followed the original Pretty Little Liars, which ran during 2010-17 on Freeform; and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, which aired for one season in 2019.
In a shocker for fans, the CW show All American will lose six series regulars ahead of season seven, Variety noted. Daniel Ezra (who played Spencer James) Samantha Logan (Olivia), Cody Christian (Asher), Karimah Westbrook (Grace James), Monet Mazur (Laura Baker) and Chelsea Tavares (Patience) will not be returning; only three original cast members will return full-time—Michael Evans Behling (Jordan), Greta Onieogou (Layla) and Bre-Z (Coop). Ezra will be back to direct and guest-star next season (which will debut next year) while “other fan-favorite OG characters” are expected to appear as guest stars.